In late 2006, a United States Attorney’s Office secured a guilty plea in a major racketeering case involving trash collectors and organized crime. The multi-state investigation included ten federal, state, and local agencies and resulted in a multiple-count indictment. Hundreds of BSA records document transactions conducted on behalf of the subjects.

The defendant pled guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

According to court documents and statements, the defendant admitted to conspiring to perpetuate a “property rights system” that allowed participating trash removal companies (or “carters”) to inflate their prices and leave waste removal customers with no other options. In this scheme, which was principally directed at commercial and municipal customers, participating carters agreed to quote inflated prices to customers controlled by other carters. The defendant admitted to agreeing to respect the unwritten rules of the property rights system. The scheme was enforced by extortion and threats by businesses owned and controlled by persons allegedly associated with La Cosa Nostra.

In support of the investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said they accessed and used several hundred relevant BSA records, including SARs and Casino CTRs. The BSA information helped prove probable cause for the arrests and the seizures. Additional arrests and seizures are expected.

(Investigating Agencies: Federal Bureau of Investigation; Internal Revenue Service --Criminal Investigation Division; U.S. Department of Labor – Office of the Inspector General; State Police; U.S. Marshals Service; Drug Enforcement Administration; State Department of Correction; Local Police Departments; U.S. Attorney’s Office.)